Gonioplasty / Iridoplasty

Gonioplasty, also known as iridoplasty. is a technique used to help pull the peripheral iris away from the trabecular meshwork in the angle of the eye. This can be effective in patients with plateau iris syndrome and other specific types of angle closure glaucoma in efforts to avoid incisional surgery. This is an in-office procedure using an argon laser. Relatively large spots of low energy are used to slightly shrink areas of the iris and, in so doing, pull them away from the angle which is being partially blocked by the iris.

Gonioplasty/iridoplasty is an in-office technique at the West Coast Glaucoma Centre. After instilling a drop of topical anaesthetic, a lens is touched to your eye in order to focus the light on the peripheral iris. The technique takes approximately five minutes per eye. Afterwards, a glaucoma eye drop will also be instilled to reduce the chance of a sudden spike in eye pressure and you will wait in the waiting room for 30-60 minutes so that we can recheck you before you leave. Follow-up will be arranged for 1 week later and 6 weeks later and you will likely take an anti-inflammatory eye drop for several days to make sure you do not have any discomfort.